With online threats to your home computer becoming increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect, it’s now more important than ever to take your online security seriously. Online viruses, spread by email or unprotected wireless connections, can corrupt your computer and compromise personal data, by potentially giving access to secure personal information such as online banking details, personal information and email accounts.
Thankfully, there are simple ways to increase your online security and give yourself peace of mind. The power of the Virgin Media network can help protect you by giving you cloud-based security on up to five devices, including your PC, Mac, smartphones and tablets. The power of the network household will give you all the online security you need for all of your home computing. To help you stay one step ahead of the newest online threats, we’ve run down the most dangerous online viruses to look out for in 2014.
Trojan-Banker. Win32/64. Neverquest
A self-replicating virus, first seen in late 2013, this new threat infiltrates online banking accounts, allowing hackers to modify websites to look like the real thing, and then collecting users’ names and passwords as they enter them. That information is then bought and sold by hackers across the web. The virus can also harvest data to access social media sites such as Skype and Facebook. The virus has been spread by malicious email attachments, which appear genuine. Experts have stated that tough online security measures that go beyond a computer’s most basic anti-virus programs, are required to be completely safe.
Cryptolocker
Cryptolocker is a type of ‘ransomware’ which is quickly spreading through the virtual world. Again, most reported cases have described it as originating from email attachments but once activated, the virus opens a pop up on the victim’s computer, which threatens to encrypt all of their computer’s files with the virus unless a ransom of $300 is paid. It also threatens to wipe all of the victim’s files and the pop up starts a countdown immediately. The virus is highly sophisticated, making it difficult for experts to crack, and many victims have ended up paying the ‘ransom’ to salvage their files. Experts have advised against paying anything to the would-be hackers, as there is no guarantee that the virus will disappear.
Ransomware FBI virus
A variant of the Cryptolocker virus, Ransomware is able to manipulate your computer’s camera, showing a mocked-up mug shot of the victim on screen in a pop up claiming to be from the police or other authorities. The pop up accuses the victim of illegal downloading of music or porn, and then demands payment of up to $1,000 to release its hold over the computer. Although professionals can remove the malware in around three hours, files such as photos and videos can still be lost.
So there are three malicious viruses to keep an eye out for in 2014. But vigilance can only take you so far. In just one, absent-minded click, you could accidentally unleash a major threat to your online security, so make sure your household network is protected in the New Year.
